Ending the disabling pain of carpal tunnel syndrome

GERMANTOWN (WPVI) -- Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common but disabling medical condition, costing tens of thousands of dollars in lost work time and medical care.

Some people delay treatment, but doctors say it needs to be addressed early on.

"I was ignoring the symptoms at first," notes Niema Williamson, of Germantown.

But over time, Niema couldn't deny the numbness and tingling in her fingers and forearms.

"Sometimes I couldn't button my pants," she recalls, adding, "I couldn't open up jars, and I couldn't open up my medicine bottles."

Dr. Bradley Wiekrykas, a Temple Health orthopedic surgeon, says the pain comes from compression of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist.

It can affect the thumb, index finger, and long finger - or the whole hand.

"They frequently feel like their hand is asleep - Like they have to shake it out to wake it up," says Dr. Wiekrykas.

He says many patients are 50 years or above, but even 20 or 30-year-olds can have the early signs.

"About 1 in 5 adults in the United States are actually affected by it," he adds.

While there are no clear causes, carpal tunnel syndrome is linked to diabetes, hormone disorders, thyroid disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, hand or arm traumas, obesity, and pregnancy.

Dr. Wiekrykas says don't delay with any suspected symptoms.

"When the disease is so severe, sometimes the damage is irreversible, even with surgery," he says.

"The muscle in their hand has actually started to atrophy or waste away because of the nerve damage."

He uses 2 surgical techniques to release a ligament - one through a small incision on the palm.

The other uses a smaller incision on the wrist and mini-camera to reach the ligament.

Niema had both and got equal pain relief.

"I noticed improvement right away," she says happily.

But she was using her hand sooner with the endoscopic technique.

Still, the doctor says it may take 6 months for improvement to peak.

"When we take the pressure off the nerve, the nerves heal at about a millimeter a day or about an inch a month," Dr. Wiekrykas.

The doctor says night braces and steroid injections can help in the early stages, but they aren't cures. So surgery may still be needed down the line.